Electric vehicles estimated to make up 30% of Turkish auto market in 2025

Electric vehicles (EVs) are estimated to make up 30% of Türkiye's auto market in 2025, as increasingly more EV models of well-known car brands enter the country and the domestic EV brand Togg boosts its production capacity, Ali Bilaloglu, CEO of the Turkish auto exporter and distributor Dogus Otomotiv, told Anadolu.

Bilaloglu stated EV and hybrid sales accounted for 27% of the total Turkish auto market this year, led by the entry of Chinese brands into the market.

"This year, we launched at least one EV model for almost every brand we distribute, representing all Volkswagen Group brands, and two or three more EV models for most of our brands," he said, noting that the number of EV models the firm distributes from the group will be 20-25 in the coming years.

Bilaloglu estimated that the end-year auto sales, excluding heavy commercial vehicles, will reach 1.2 million units this year, as January-November sales totaled near 1.1 million units, close to the record sales of 2023.

He stated that the Turkish auto sector develops every year and the country's demographic structure influences the market.

Bilaloglu said that the duration extension of EU General Safety Regulation (GSR) II, the increase of the number limit of vehicles sold without the special consumption tax (SCT), and the speculations that the SCT would increase led to the high number of sales this year.

"Like other developed and industrialized countries with large economies like that of Türkiye's, we observe that tax policies to ensure predictability of the market are more stable and do not change during the year," he noted.

Bilaloglu stated that the turbulent and the complicated period the world is in may lead to price hikes in the auto market, while high interest rates may deter investors.